Canon - SELPHY SQUARE QX10

Whatever you do, stay away from the QX10. I used it once, it broke. Sent it back for returns, immediately broke again. Whenever it breaks, it eats the entire cartridge, which is very expensive. Thus of the three cartridges I bought, I got to print one. Terrible product. CP1300 is fine (slow, big, mid quality), INSTAX is fine, too (small, rugged, low quality).

You're asking about price per print, *including* the amortized cost of the printer. In the long run, ink and paper costs always dominate. Short term however, the price of the printer dominates. A more expensive printer, such as the Epson ET8550, will have very good long term cost, but the initial investment is steep. A less expensive printer, such as a Canon SELPHY, will have a modest initial price, but price per picture adds up much faster. The least expensive printer is Walgreen's, with no up-front cost, but high ongoing cost. A second consideration is quality. The more expensive the printer, the higher the print quality. The ET8550 will outperform Walgreens, producing richer colors and more detail. A professional printer such as the Canon Pro 1200, will be even better. The SELPHY does not match Walgreens. And then there's effort. Walgreens takes your JPEGs and prints them. SELPHY does, too. But a dedicated printer will require some fiddling with a computer to get good results. On the flip side, you get to play with various paper types and sizes. But make no mistake, this is extra effort. Personally, I went with a Canon Pro 200, which is roughly equivalent to the Epson ET8550, but cheaper to buy and more expensive to operate. It's all a matter of how much do you intend to print. I also have a much cheaper Epson XP8500, which prints better photos than the SELPHY, for less money, but can't match the Pro 200. I also have a SELPHY, which is nice for what it is, but can't match Walgreen. And I have an INSTAX printer, which fits in my pocket and prints adorable little polaroids. But quality can't match even the SELPHY. Depending on your needs, all of the mentioned printers are a good purchase. In your case, I'd probably recommend the Epson XP8800 as a cheap, good quality photo printer. You'll be able to buy six full ink replacements before you'll reach the cost of the ET8550, which should take several years. If you'd like to splurge, the ET8550 is definitely the better printer, with lower ink costs. And keep in mind that ink is only one part of the running costs. It's easy to get swept up in the marketing that an ecotank printer makes printing "free". But that's ignoring paper costs, which in my experience dominate printing costs in the long run. First party paper is reliable and good, but offers only limited variations. Third party paper requires matching printer profiles, which can be hard to come by for non-professional printers such as the XP8800 (but some paper manufacturers (Photospeed) profile for free, and there are cheap services for creating bespoke profiles).

Essentially, there are 4x6 dye-sub printers like the SELPHY CP1500, the mini dye-subs like the QX10, Zink printers, and INSTAX printers. Stay away from the mini dye-subs. My QX10 broke twice in two weeks, and and each time wasted an entire ink cartridge. They are trash. The other options work well. The big SELPHY is decent quality and large, but slow and loud and not really all that portable. Zink is faster and portable and prints on paper. INSTAX is much faster, least good quality, but with analog charm.

I have a Canon Ivy and a Canon Selphy Square and use them both, depending on the shot and the space I have for it.

I’ve had a Canon Ivy for years, and also a Canon Selphy square. I tend to use the Selphy a lot because it is newer and higher quality, but the narrower Ivy photos work well if I have a little less space. I got non-proprietary cases for travel and have loved having them!

I have not had any issues at all. Since I’m a data kind of person, I looked up my receipts and here are my stats, lol: It is the QX10, and I’ve had it since Dec 2023. I’ve purchased 120 sheets of photo paper for it and have ~20 sheets right now, so it has printed 100 photos for me so far. 😊

I second the Canon qx20 (or qx10 if you just want a 2x3" print). I don't like the HP sprocket 200 or Canon ivy 2... they seem to overly sharpen and I don't like how they reproduce darker skin tones.

I’m not sure where you heard that the printer is zinc. Canon SELPHY (of all types) use dye sublimation.

Same same! It’s my favorite too. And since learning how to remove the backing paper, gluing in pics doesn’t add to chonk

This is a tough one. I have the QX10, CP1500, and the Polaroid Hi Print. All are dye sublimation. I reach the most for the Hi Print because it’s convenient, love print quality, and it’s all sticky paper. I use the Qx10 the least—not thrilled with print quality. The CP1500 has the best print quality of all of them and I love that can print in many configurations. I’m lazy tho so I don’t use it all the time. I enjoy playing with the photos on the latter too when I get into it. If you do get the qx20, come back and tell us what you think!

I have the canon Selphy square. It prints on sticky back paper and you can use the app to split the photo into collage etc. I usually use the 6 pics per print collàge option and cut them out with my scissors. Peel off the backing and stick - voila. I had the HP sprocket and hated the photo quality and moved to the Selphy square. Significant improvement in printing quality 💕 Edit - spelling

No there’s a load of known problems with the Polaroid range. I went for the cannon Selphy instead as it uses sublimation ink to print not zinc which will fade and I don’t like

I was reccomended the Canon SELPHY Square by people on this sub. So far I love it, the photo quality is really good, and it prints in a size that is perfect for hobonichis imo (a little smaller than 3x3”) Edit: adding on that the paper is sticky back, the refills come in 20 packs for $15 a pop so not terrible

I have the canon SELPHY square QX10, I’m guessing the newer one mentioned in the other comment is the QX20

I also love the thinness of the SELPHY compared to the sprocket. I also imagine the washi prints thinner photos too so I am interested in information about how that compares

I have a SELPHY square and the cartridges come with the paper.

Here is the same image printed with the Cannon Selphy Square and the Polaroid Hi Print. I prefer the Cannon, but right now the paper is hard to get (I keep going back to Amazon JP) but it doesn't feel sustainable. I would be interested in the Ivy 2 and see images compared to others!

I use the selphy square for adding pictures on the go. It’s dye, so it uses ink, but the cartridges are small, and the photos will last a really long time. It was important to me that the photos had longevity. The selphy paper is sticky. I will add getting the paper can be a little annoying in the states. It used to sell out a lot. I’ve acquired a bit of stockpile so I don’t know if that’s still an issue.

I went back and forth on this for ages and settled on the Canon Selphy Square a couple years ago. I have had the occasional issue with the printer cartridges with the Selphy, but have always been able to spool the film back onto the reel as needed. Sticker paper, portable sized, and most importantly for me, the dye sublimation printing means the prints should last for as long as I need them to (some of their marketing materials say 100 years, which is longer than my mid-30's ass will be alive, so...). I stayed away from all the zink printers, which apparently can start fading in just a few years. I have a MLIS (Master's of Library and Information Science) so I probably err TOO far on the side of historical consideration, acid-free and archival pens, etc., particularly for someone who doesn't plan to have kids and would want her journals burned at death, lol. My boyfriend bought the Canon Selphy CP1300 a few years later, and it's nice to have on hand for larger prints and photos. u/pannedemonium did a [tutorial on reducing bulk by removing the backs of photos](https://www.reddit.com/r/hobonichi/comments/1e9shyw/reducing_bulk_with_photos_canon_selphy_cp1500/) that you might find useful. I don't find the CP1300 to really be travel-friendly (I wouldn't bring it with me), but it's also honestly not that big. Smaller (but thicker) than a paperback book.